Mike Israetel - sage or egomaniac??

[mixmastermo]

Soo I watch some training related stuff on youtube to get some ideas on workouts, mixing things up, etc. I cam across this Dr. Mike Israetel guy - who apparently has a Ph.D in sport physiology from Lehman college (which is hardly a prestigious school here in NYC but I digress)

He legitimately has some great videos and advice- like the following



Here he breaks down the myths and limitations of body types



Here he has some good dieting advice



Here's some great info about form and targeting musicles- there's a whole series of these.

BUT THEN

As chill and smart as he comes off in those videos, he has a whole series of videos bashing people. Mostly celebrities, but he bashes other youtubers as well



Here he is tearing down the V shred guy. I mean- if he has found that the guy is selling snake oil, then fine- criticize the method, break it down, and explain why someone should not follow it. However, in that video- he lets the V Shred promo video play and Mike just basically makes fun of the guy. It was so annoying I couldn't finish watching.

There's a whole series of him just going off on athletes and celebrities



Really dude?



Here he's going off on Tom Brady. Where are YOUR superbowl rings Mike?



And here he's going off on Chris Hemsworth, possibly the hottest actor in Hollywood at the moment. Where are YOUR blockbuster movies Mike?


In the end I suppose what I am saying he's useful, but he's a bit of a smug prick too.

Now excuse me while I go do upright rows for the next 6 hours.

 

[Fahcough]

Must have only picked up on smug prick videos. Can't watch him and click Do Not Recommend when they pop up. Not a fan of juice boxes telling you how to do it naturally.

 

[maximus__]

Must have only picked up on smug prick videos. Can't watch him and click Do Not Recommend when they pop up. Not a fan of juice boxes telling you how to do it naturally.

This is exactly what I thought. I have basically applied this approach to following advice from people or content I consume on training.

If you use gear, don't have kids and have a 2 hour morning wellness routine (involving journaling, icebath and sauna before you have to go to work or look after family, the information probably isn't applicable to me.

 

[Poon Goon]

I mostly like the guy. I thought his critique videos mainly focused on why he thought some of the shit the athlete/youtuber was wrong instead of just making fun of them. I could be misremembering that though. His episodes on Dave Tate's podcast were pretty good.

 

[KnightTemplar]

I like the guy. He's got a funny, easy to listen to style, and a lot of his criticisms of Hollywood training etc are completely valid. Hemsworth, for example, looks amazing because of incredible genetics and top teir, ahem, "suplements". He also has the luxury of almost unlimited recovery time when prepping for a movie role. So even less than optimal training works for him.

Israetel also doesn't take himself too seriously, and frequently admits the guys he's taking the piss out of have accomplished far more than he ever will.

 

[mixmastermo]

50/50 split on opinions here so far.. interesting

I like the guy. He's got a funny, easy to listen to style, and a lot of his criticisms of Hollywood training etc are completely valid. Hemsworth, for example, looks amazing because of incredible genetics and top teir, ahem, "suplements". He also has the luxury of almost unlimited recovery time when prepping for a movie role. So even less than optimal training works for him.

Israetel also doesn't take himself too seriously, and frequently admits the guys he's taking the piss out of have accomplished far more than he ever will.

All I know is I know nothing - Plato

A few things to unpack here

• Mike has admitted to steroid use himself
• You basically just laid out why a specific workout program isn't optimal for everyone. These guys he is critiquing have found success going outside of Mike's scientific theories.
• Science is proven wrong all the time. Theories evolve and are even disproven as more information is gathered over time

There's another video where he and this other youtuber are commenting on how it's unfair and unwise to just assume celebrities are on the juice- can't find it at the moment but I will post it when I do.

I mostly like the guy. I thought his critique videos mainly focused on why he thought some of the shit the athlete/youtuber was wrong instead of just making fun of them. I could be misremembering that though. His episodes on Dave Tate's podcast were pretty good.

In the V Shred tear down he is blatantly making fun of the guy. In the end the V shred dude is in great shape and Mike has used steroids. Make what you will of that.

more info here

How Bodybuilders (and Steroids) Reshaped Hollywood

How the muscles and movies got bigger. How Bodybuilders (and Steroids) Reshaped Hollywood Wren Graves

www.yahoo.com

 

[KnightTemplar]

50/50 split on opinions here so far.. interesting



All I know is I know nothing - Plato

A few things to unpack here

• Mike has admitted to steroid use himself
• You basically just laid out why a specific workout program isn't optimal for everyone. These guys he is critiquing have found success going outside of Mike's scientific theories.
• Science is proven wrong all the time. Theories evolve and are even disproven as more information is gathered over time

There's another video where he and this other youtuber are commenting on how it's unfair and unwise to just assume celebrities are on the juice- can't find it at the moment but I will post it when I do.

In the V Shred tear down he is blatantly making fun of the guy. In the end the V shred dude is in great shape and Mike has used steroids. Make what you will of that.

more info here

How Bodybuilders (and Steroids) Reshaped Hollywood

How the muscles and movies got bigger. How Bodybuilders (and Steroids) Reshaped Hollywood Wren Graves

www.yahoo.com

Plato didn't even Lift, bro.

No shit Israetel takes Juice. He's a competitive Bodybuilder and BJJ fighter. Two sports in which Juicing is quite common. Guess what? Most actors will Juice as well. I don't have a problem with that; pay me millions to get in the best(looking)shape of my life and use more Gear than the average WWE Wrestler.

He has some good advice on technique, which is applicable to Natties like me as well as Juice-Heads. Beyond that, I don't take him too seriously. And neither should you.

 

[Belaya Smert]

A bit of both. He ignores facts sometimes obvious ones to make a video point. He’s said some questionable things. He entertains though, part exercise science part self deprecating comedian. If I wanted to work our smarter and not watch a much of long videos I got to Wenning Strength Channel.

 

[Smato_rules]

He’s funny but guys who use “science” to discredit time tested programs because the research on pubmed says otherwise is annoying. He says 531 is terrible even as a strength program and is a volume queen

 

[mixmastermo]

Plato didn't even Lift, bro.

No shit Israetel takes Juice. He's a competitive Bodybuilder and BJJ fighter. Two sports in which Juicing is quite common. Guess what? Most actors will Juice as well. I don't have a problem with that; pay me millions to get in the best(looking)shape of my life and use more Gear than the average WWE Wrestler.

He has some good advice on technique, which is applicable to Natties like me as well as Juice-Heads. Beyond that, I don't take him too seriously. And neither should you.

Found the video I was talking about



And yes you're right. He does have SOME good advice but he really shouldn't be taken too too seriously.

 

[zapataxiv]

He is ok
I like him when he is on Dave tates podcast or collabing with other guys in the space
but I can't stand his vids when he is on his own
his advice is good but there are better channels
pretty much anything he has said I have heard better or more detailed advice from others

also I don't find him funny

 

[usernamee]

The workout science is horse shit most of the time and this dude bases everything off it. So many science bros out there nowadays.

 

[Xoleth]

He has a weird fetish for as much ROM as possible, for the deeeeeeeep stretch and for the slow, slow, slow eccentrics.
Too much ACCORDING TO FUCKING SCIENCE videos.

Another point of view about him

 

[KnightTemplar]

Found the video I was talking about



And yes you're right. He does have SOME good advice but he really shouldn't be taken too too seriously.

Well yeah, that's my point. I like the guy's style - he takes the piss out of himself as much as the people he's roasting - and he does make some genuinely good points. Some of the personal trainers he shows deserve to get burned to ashes. But I'm not signing up for the Hypertrophy App he keeps plugging: I have my own PT to design my program.

 

[NoSmilez]

Israeltel is ok. He is a full range of motion guy. Current circle jerk in the fitness world are those lengthened partials that run opposite of what he is saying.

He is more in bodybuilding sphere but he isn't an accomplished bodybuilder. He is more of social media star. There is a genetic component that I don't think he can overcome regardless of how much drugs he is taking. Most of his fans are just looking for the smart cool uncle figure in their life.

 

[Boomb]

I don't follow him, but I'll watch his videos if they pop up on YT. I like it.

I remember that I liked how he detroyed Mark Wahlbergs training. (I'm too lazy, to go find the video now, sorry)

 

[italiamusica]

I dig Dr. Mike. He jokes around a lot and I think his personality and awkward ticks kind of rub some people the wrong way, but he has a lot of good info.

 

[StonedLemur]

I make it a point to ignore anyone trying to tell me how to live (in all aspects).
I watch people that show me how to build shit, but even that is highly vetted against people I know that know what they're doing.

I think people telling you how to do shit are generally kooks, and really need to be looked at before hearing them out.

Jim Jones was one of those guys, and we all know how that ended sir.

 

[KnightTemplar]

Israeltel is ok. He is a full range of motion guy. Current circle jerk in the fitness world are those lengthened partials that run opposite of what he is saying.

He is more in bodybuilding sphere but he isn't an accomplished bodybuilder. He is more of social media star. There is a genetic component that I don't think he can overcome regardless of how much drugs he is taking. Most of his fans are just looking for the smart cool uncle figure in their life.

He admits he's not an elite Bodybuilder and never will be. He says he's achieved more in BJJ competitions, and he's not anywhere near the top level there, either.

 

[NoSmilez]

He admits he's not an elite Bodybuilder and never will be. He says he's achieved more in BJJ competitions, and he's not anywhere near the top level there, either.

He is trying to become a pro bodybuilder. He isn't really close. It is just to validate his dogmatic training methods but also earn a lot more money. Most of the professionals don't have a cult following like him. I heard some people who compete say he is a bit overrated. This stuff doesn't really apply to me since I am a lifelong intermediate.